McCutcheon meets West Lafayette for sectional title

Harrison's Alexis Decamp and Alexandra Lynam of West Lafayette battle for ball control in the Girls 2A sectional Thursday, October 6, 2016, at Harrison High School. West Lafayette shut out the host Raiders 2-0.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)Buy Photo

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - McCutcheon will not face the opponent it expected to have to go through to win a sectional title.

The fact of the matter is, the Mavericks don’t care who is in the way. Their opponent feels the same way and proved it Thursday night.

McCutcheon (13-5-1) eased into Saturday’s Class 2A girls soccer sectional championship match at Harrison with a 7-0 victory over Frankfort in the semifinals.

The Mavericks anticipated seeing the host Raiders, who were knocked off by West Lafayette 2-0.

“We were more shocked than surprised, but it’s something to look forward to playing West Side,” said McCutcheon senior MaKayla Merryman, who had a hat trick against the Hot Dogs. “We’re pretty evenly matched, but if we can come out and possess, I think we will be OK.”

Do you know who wasn’t shocked?

The Red Devils, who were eager to prove a 4-0 loss to Harrison last week wasn’t an indication of how far they’ve come this season.

West Lafayette (10-5-3) is in its second year in Class 2A after being one of the state’s dominant small school programs through the first cycle of class soccer.

They reached the championship and exorcised the demons of their lone defeat during the last nine matches. All eight Red Devil victories during that stretch are shutouts.

Buy Photo

Harrison's Kylie Koutsouros is marked by Aleah Whaley of West Lafayette in the Girls 2A sectional Thursday, October 6, 2016, at Harrison High School. West Lafayette shut out the host Raiders 2-0.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Harrison certainly had its chances on Thursday, but never managed to sneak one past a supremely confident defense and goalkeeper Gabbi Espinoza.

“We knew who their strongest players were and that they were fast up top and could finish,” West Lafayette senior defender Emma Burley said. “We pressure covered so well this game. This was one of the best games I’ve seen our defense play.”

Harrison fired six shots on goal and two more that missed just wide, but it wasn’t until the Raiders fell behind that they played with a sense of urgency.

“I think we actually needed that first goal scored on us for us to come out strong,” Harrison senior Eleanor Sammons said. “We didn’t come out as strong as we usually do and we played a great game, but I give credit to West Side because they played a really great game.

West Lafayette, meanwhile, capitalized early on a lucky bounce and Katy Penquite being in the right place at the right time.

In the 10th minute, a high bouncer hit off the crossbar and dropped right to Penquite, who plunked it past Harrison’s keeper.

“Before the game, we had talked about how we need to follow up every shot because we haven’t been doing a good job on that,” Penquite said. “I thought there’s a chance this ball can go in, so I ran up and made sure I was there and I think it was pretty much luck that it hit the crossbar.

“That got us up and gave us the energy to keep going. We really wanted to prove ourselves and we got the shutout.”

Caroline Sautter, who assisted Penquite’s score, added a dagger goal with just under 14 minutes remaining.

Harrison's Alexis Decamp and Alexandra Lynam of West Lafayette battle for ball control in the Girls 2A sectional Thursday, October 6, 2016, at Harrison High School. West Lafayette shut out the host Raiders 2-0. John Terhune/Journal & Courier

Harrison's Alexis Decamp and Alexandra Lynam of West Lafayette collide with one another in the Girls 2A sectional Thursday, October 6, 2016, at Harrison High School. West Lafayette shut out the host Raiders 2-0. John Terhune/Journal & Courier

Harrison's Kylie Koutsouros is marked by Aleah Whaley of West Lafayette in the Girls 2A sectional Thursday, October 6, 2016, at Harrison High School. West Lafayette shut out the host Raiders 2-0. John Terhune/Journal & Courier

McCutcheon followed up a tight contest in the first semifinal with a goal-scoring barrage against the Hot Dogs.

In the sixth minute, Merryman’s pass hit an open Kassidy Crowe near the net. Merryman added her first of three goals less than four minutes later. Jordan Nakaguchi also scored two goals for McCutcheon.

“We knew we had to come out strong right from the beginning,” Merryman said. “Putting two goals in early really helped us throughout the rest of the game play strong.”